Value Report: Sanderson Farms Championship

What a week we had with the Ryder Cup! After a blitzing opening two days for the Europeans, making every putt in sight, the Americans did their best to make it a photo finish. Sunday brought more juice than expected, and I found myself as invested in the event as I had ever been. Part of it was how likable the European Team is and how impressed I am with every minute detail they parse through in preparation, but the other part was how fun that slate was from a DFS perspective. Projecting out pairings, evaluating opportunity for captains, and flying blind on ownership/uniqueness really gets the spidey senses tingling. I felt we as a team got a lot of the calls right, and it was incredible to put things into projections for the first time for the event. I’m really excited to keep that going with more team events for the future!

But now, we flip back to our typical PGA Tour-style events for the rest of the fall swing, where we have full fields with a traditional 36-hole cut. And now that the Ryder Cup is in the rearview, the fields are going to be typically weaker than an average PGA Tour event, as almost all players teeing it up are fighting to keep their PGA Tour cards. As a player, if you missed out on the FedEx Cup playoffs, you currently are not locked in to any status for 2025-26, and your fall results will impact the standings. So now, it’s a battle for spots 71-100 on the FedEx Cup standings to earn the final 30 cards up for grabs in 2026. There are a few early-season signature event starts up for grabs for best cumulative performances, too, so there are high stakes despite the weak fields. Contests will definitely be downsized with football back, but it creates an awesome opportunity to learn more about so many players in the field while others aren’t paying attention. Let’s kick it off strong at the Sanderson!

Niklas Norgaard, $7,500 – It’s been an incredibly disappointing PGA Tour rookie season for the powerful Niklas Norgaard, who sits at 161st in the FedEx Cup Standings, and the pressure is on for the fall swing. He had just one top-20 finish on the entire season, which came in an alternate-field event, but it was an encouraging sign that he went back to Europe and had two top 20s in five starts since the Wyndham Championship. His game is built on power and putting, which has been the recipe for success at the Sanderson Farms. His iron game is a liability, but his game is basically Cameron Champ’s, who has been a horse for the course here.